“First Color” – Whitney Avenue – Wilkinsburg, PA – There is something special about finding the first flowers of the season… This particular patch never disappoints… Tucked neatly underneath of a weeping cherry tree…

Brown landscape waiting to spring…
Waiting for the gifts she always brings…
Crocus blossoms in the cold spring rain…
Snowdrops bloom while the children play…

Sunshine signifies the end of winters near…
Heaven is a state of mind… My heaven is here…
Staring at abandoned homes collapsing in the sun…
Dreaming of future homes… Dreaming of fun…

“Momentary Display” – Whitney Avenue – Wilkinsburg, PA – Yesterday was near 50 degrees… A few flowers opened into the sunshine… Tonight will be nearing 20F… Most flowers would not survive such a shock… But the Crocus will do just fine… They close when the temperature is low… They can weather the cold just fine…

Sunshine signals the opening spring flowers…
Steady breeze shakes off the early morning showers…
Soon the bees will show up to play…
Another day surrounded in the early spring display…

Spring flowers tend to bow to the south…
Gather the sunshine in their open mouth…
Open their eyes when the sun shines bright…
When the sun sets the flower says goodnight…

“House Finch” – Whitney Avenue – Wilkinsburg, PA – So I originally thought this little guy was building its nest in the roof of an abandoned house… That has turned out to not be the case… Its building its nest in the roof of my front porch… I’ll take it…

Spring cleaning… That is my current mental state… Preparing for another season… Gearing up for another project…

I recently moved all of my past photographs into storage… From this point forward I will be focusing on new photographs… Unless of course I need something specific… Otherwise every photo will be from 2014…

I am eliminating the availability of online prints for the time being… When they return they will be produced by me…

As always I am saving for gear that I desperately need… My current needs include a new computer and a macro lens… I always feel weird asking for donations… I already feel like 99% of our lives consists of relentless sales pitches… I don’t want to be one of those sales pitches… But… If you enjoy this blog… Or have learned something from one of my posts and would be interested in tossing a few bucks my way to help me continue this journey… Send me an email at c.condello@hotmail.com – I accept paypal and bitcoin…

“A Plant a Day till Spring” will highlight one plant a day, starting on the winter solstice (December 21, 2013)… And ending on the vernal equinox (March 20, 2014)… If all goes to plan I will be starting with old Snowdrop photos from 2013… And ending with new photos of Snowdrops in 2014…

Crocus is a genus of flowering plants in the Iris family… They are typically very early blooming flowers… Though autumn blooming varieties exist… They are perennials that grow from corms… The name of the genus is derived from the Greek language and translates to “Saffron”… A variety of crocus is in fact the source of this spice…

Crocus flowers and leaves are protected from frost by a waxy cuticle… In areas where snow and frost occasionally occur in the early spring, it is not uncommon to see early flowering crocuses blooming through the snow…

Some crocuses seed prolifically and are ideal for naturalizing… They can become invasive if not kept in check… Crocus look stellar when naturalized in a lawn… It is important to hold off mowing till a few weeks after they bloom… The simplest way I have found to accomplish this is to literally peal sections of sod back with a flat spade… Place your crocus bulbs how you like… And carefully replace the sod over top…

“Cluster of Crocus” – Spring 2013 – Whitney Avenue – Wilkinsburg, PA

Crocus are extremely easy to propagate… Although tolerant of overcrowding… They will lose some vigor over time… The process starts by digging up the existing Crocus corms after they die back and remove the smaller corms that have grown around the base… If the original corm is still producing foliage and flowers… Put it back in the ground… But if the corm is spent… Remove it leaving a few of the smaller corms to replace it… The recovered corms can now be planted wherever you decide to put them…

Newly planted Crocus corms are a favorite of squirrels, mice and voles… These pests will quickly dig them up for food… You can discourage these pests by placing a cage of chicken wire over your new planting… I find that once established the pests tend to leave them alone… If you can get your corms through two seasons of growth… And learn to successfully divide them… You will have more than you will ever know what to do with…

plant Petunias and question everything – chriscondello

This website and all of the information presented within is provided free by the author… Me… It is my sole opinion and is not representative of anyone other than myself… Although this website is free… I sell prints of my photography here – www.society6.com/chriscondello – or you can contact me directly with questions at – c.condello@hotmail.com – Although it isn’t a requirement… It helps…

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I am Chris Condello and I am a master gardener, urban farmer, author, photographer, guerilla activist and artist living in Pittsburgh, PA. I prefer to write about me, but I may write about you... Enjoy!